FAFSA Parent Section Keeps Freezing After Spouse Info - Week-Long Nightmare
I'm about to lose my mind trying to complete my daughter's FAFSA as a parent contributor. For over a week now, I keep hitting the same roadblock after entering my spouse's information. The system doesn't even give a proper error - just says "unable to complete at this time, exit FAFSA and try again." I've tried different browsers, cleared cache, logged out/in dozens of times, even waited until 2AM thinking maybe the site would be less busy. NOTHING WORKS! I've contacted support through the chat feature three separate times and gotten absolutely nowhere - just generic responses about "try again later." Has anyone else run into this specific issue where you can't get past the spouse section? Did you find any solution? My daughter's priority deadline is coming up fast and I'm seriously stressed about this.
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Dmitry Kuznetsov
I had this EXACT same problem last month! The issue was actually with how I entered our tax information in the previous section. For some reason, the system gets stuck in a loop if there's a mismatch between the AGI you enter and what's pulled from your tax return. What worked for me: 1) Log out completely, 2) Clear browser data, 3) Log back in but choose the IRS Data Retrieval Tool option instead of manually entering tax info, 4) Then proceed to the spouse section. The error disappeared and I could finally move forward. Hope this helps!
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Sofia Hernandez
•Thank you so much for this! I did manually enter our tax info because I wasn't sure about using the IRS Data tool. I'll try your method tonight and pray it works. Did you have to start the whole application over or could you pick up where you left off?
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Ava Thompson
omg the FAFSA is the WORST this year!!! i tried 5 diffrent times for my son and kept getting random errors. the whole redesign is garbage tbh
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Miguel Ramos
•Not just the worst, it's a complete disaster. They rushed this new system without proper testing. My nephew works in software development and says this is what happens when government contracts go to the lowest bidder instead of competent developers. The entire studentaid.gov platform is fundamentally broken.
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Zainab Ibrahim
have u tried using a diffrent device? my laptop kept freezing but when i switched to my phone it worked fine for some reason
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Sofia Hernandez
•That's actually a good idea! I've only been trying on our desktop. I'll download the app and see if that works better. Thanks for the suggestion!
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StarSailor
The spouse information section is a known issue with the 2025-2026 FAFSA form. What's happening is that there's a validation error occurring between the spouse's SSN and the tax filing status you selected earlier. This problem typically happens when: 1. You selected "Married Filing Jointly" but the system isn't properly linking your spouse's information 2. There's a mismatch between the name format in the FSA ID system versus what's on the tax return 3. The system is experiencing a timeout when trying to verify the spouse's information The most reliable fix is to contact Federal Student Aid directly at 1-800-433-3243, but as you've discovered, getting through can be nearly impossible. The chat system is handled by tier 1 support with very limited abilities to resolve technical issues. I'd recommend using Claimyr (claimyr.com) - it's a service that holds your place in the phone queue and calls you when an agent is ready. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ A live FSA agent can override the error and manually advance your application past the problematic section. That's ultimately what fixed it for me after dealing with the same error for days.
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Sofia Hernandez
•Thank you for such a detailed explanation! I did select "Married Filing Jointly" so that could definitely be the issue. I've been trying to call that number but after 45+ minutes on hold I usually have to hang up for work or family obligations. I've never heard of Claimyr before but I'm desperate enough to try anything at this point. Did the FSA agent need any special information to help you get past this section?
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Connor O'Brien
The same thing happened to me last week, and I was able to fix it by completely deleting my parent FSA ID and creating a new one from scratch. It was a pain because I had to wait 3 days for the account verification, but after that, I could complete the spouse section without the error. Apparently, sometimes the parent FSA ID gets corrupted in their system. Also! Make sure you're using the exact same name that appears on your social security card - even a middle initial difference can cause the system to freeze. The FAFSA is extremely picky about these details this year.
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Sofia Hernandez
•Wow, that's a pretty drastic solution but I might try it if nothing else works. Did you lose all your previously entered information when you created the new FSA ID? And did you have to re-link to the IRS data retrieval tool? I'm worried about making things even worse!
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Yara Sabbagh
My daughter had to submit her fafsa last month and we kept having problems too. but it was with the student contribution section not the parent part. anyway we gave up on the website and went to her college financial aid office and they helped us finish it right there. maybe try that?
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Miguel Ramos
•The financial aid offices are completely overwhelmed right now. My sister works in one and said they're booking appointments 3-4 weeks out just to help with FAFSA issues. The Department of Education really screwed up this rollout.
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Dmitry Kuznetsov
Just checking back - were you able to fix the issue using any of these suggestions?
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Sofia Hernandez
•YES!! I finally got it working! I used that Claimyr service to get through to an actual FSA agent. The woman I spoke with was super helpful and explained that there was a conflict between how my name was entered in the FSA ID system versus my tax records. She made some adjustment on their end and had me try again while on the phone with her. The form finally processed correctly and I was able to complete the entire application! Such a relief. Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions - this forum saved my sanity!
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